1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable, hand-held device which can mark or imprint fabric with a name or other legend or message and can be utilized by a laundry, other commercial enterprises, or principally, at home, to mark children's clothing with their name or identifying mark so that they can distinguish their own from other fabric articles of other children.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 930,005 to Weaver et al. discloses a clothes marking device which operates generally in a manner similar to that of a pliers. Specifically, the letters to be imprinted on the garment are set in a manner analagous to the setting of type, the letters are inked utilizing an ink pad and then the fabric is inserted between the letters and a smooth surface backer plate. The handles of the plier-like device are squeezed together forcing the letters against the fabric between the letters and the backer plate. The device of Weaver et al. is characterized by its complexity in its number of interconnecting moving parts and in the fact that inking of the letters is required as a separate step for the device to be utilized.
Webster, U.S. Pat. No. 909,836, discloses a device for imprinting seals on paper and utilizes a "U"-shaped support for suspending an imprinting seal above an anvil. The Webster device does not rely on any flexing of the "U"-shaped support for imprinting the seal on paper; rather, Webster has a handle, pivotally mounted, to drive the seal against the anvil via the relationship between the underside of the handle and the stem of the support for the seal.
Other patents show various devices for manually imprinting. Baskerville, U.S. Pat. No. 1,370,267, shows a hinged support for imprinting letters against a inking pad carried by a base plate. The Baskerville device is utilized in verifying freight loads by a loading clerk utilizing a loading ticket marked with the device.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,634,105 to Hoffman and 3,129,660 to Miller disclose flat portable printers which record information on paper so as to function as a check protector or as a pocket secretary, respectively. The U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,665,597 to Marks and 2,482,542 to Hanrahan, et al. disclose imprinting devices operating in a manner analagous to a stapler where a fixed base has a spring-loaded arm pivotally mounted at one end thereof. Imprinting is obtained by manually forcing the moveable arm against the fixed base with the desired media there between. U.S. Pat. No. 2,443,783 to Bogin, et al. shows a printing kit where the supporting box carrying the various kit elements also shows as the cover and platen for the printing process itself.